Transaction manager

Abstract

A method performed by a transaction manager comprising: receiving, from a first network entity, a first request to perform a transaction with a second network entity; selecting a request queue from a plurality of transaction request queues; adding the first request to the back of the selected request queue; when the first request reaches the front of the selected request queue, processing the first request by a request handler and sending a second request to the second network entity; receiving a first response from the second network entity, in response to the second request; selecting a response queue from a plurality of transaction response queues; adding the first response to the back of the selected response queue; and when the first response reaches the front of the selected response queue, processing the first response by a response handler and sending a second response to the first network entity.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method performed by a transaction manager for processing a plurality of transactions among a plurality of network entities, the method comprising:
 for each transaction:
 receiving, from a first network entity, a first transaction request to perform a transaction with a second network entity; 
 selecting a transaction request queue from a plurality of configured transaction request queues; 
 adding the first transaction request to the back of the selected transaction request queue; 
 when the first transaction request reaches the front of the selected transaction request queue, processing the first transaction request by a transaction request handler associated with the selected transaction request queue and sending a second transaction request to the second network entity; 
 receiving a first transaction response from the second network entity, in response to the second transaction request; 
 selecting a transaction response queue from a plurality of configured transaction response queues; 
 adding the first transaction response to the back of the selected transaction response queue; and 
 when the first transaction response reaches the front of the selected transaction response queue, processing the first transaction response by a transaction response handler associated with the selected transaction response queue and sending a second transaction response to the first network entity. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 selecting the transaction request queue comprises performing load balancing for the plurality of configured transaction request queues; and   selecting the transaction response queue comprises performing load balancing for the plurality of configured transaction response queues.   
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 for at least one of the plurality of configured transaction request queues, a plurality of transaction request handlers are associated with the transaction request queue to process multiple transaction requests from the transaction request queue simultaneously; and/or   for at least one of the plurality of configured transaction response queues, a plurality of transaction response handlers are associated with the transaction response queue to process multiple transaction responses from the transaction response queue simultaneously.   
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the method comprises discarding a transaction request from a transaction request queue if the transaction request exceeds a first predetermined age before being processed.   
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 4 , wherein, after discarding the transaction request from the transaction request queue, the method comprises:
 sending a transaction failure message to the first network entity.   
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the method comprises discarding a transaction response from a transaction response queue if the transaction response exceeds a second predetermined age before being processed.   
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 6 , wherein, after discarding the transaction response from a transaction response queue, the method comprises:
 re-sending the second transaction request to the second network entity.   
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 processing the first transaction request comprises adding a first transaction record to a database of ongoing transactions; and/or   processing the first transaction response comprises updating the first transaction record.   
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 8 , wherein the first transaction record comprises the first transaction request or the second transaction request. 
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the first transaction request comprises a timestamp; and/or   the first transaction response comprises a timestamp.   
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the network entities are bank entities configured to perform payment transactions via the transaction manager. 
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein processing the first transaction response and sending the second transaction response to the first network entity comprises:
 sending, to a third network entity, a third transaction request based on the first transaction response;   receiving a third transaction response from the third network entity, in response to the third transaction request;   selecting a transaction response queue from a plurality of configured transaction response queues;   adding the third transaction response to the back of the selected transaction response queue;   when the third transaction response reaches the front of the selected transaction response queue, processing the third transaction response and sending the second transaction response to the first network entity.   
     
     
         13 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions thereon which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform:
 for each transaction:
 receiving, from a first network entity, a first transaction request to perform a transaction with a second network entity; 
 selecting a transaction request queue from a plurality of configured transaction request queues; 
 adding the first transaction request to the back of the selected transaction request queue; 
 when the first transaction request reaches the front of the selected transaction request queue, processing the first transaction request by a transaction request handler associated with the selected transaction request queue and sending a second transaction request to the second network entity; 
 receiving a first transaction response from the second network entity, in response to the second transaction request; 
 selecting a transaction response queue from a plurality of configured transaction response queues; 
 adding the first transaction response to the back of the selected transaction response queue; and 
 when the first transaction response reaches the front of the selected transaction response queue, processing the first transaction response by a transaction response handler associated with the selected transaction response queue and sending a second transaction response to the first network entity. 
   
     
     
         14 . A transaction manager apparatus operable for processing a plurality of transactions among a plurality of network entities, the transaction manager apparatus configured to:
 for each transaction:
 receive, from a first network entity, a first transaction request to perform a transaction with a second network entity; 
 select a transaction request queue from a plurality of configured transaction request queues; 
 add the first transaction request to the back of the selected transaction request queue; 
 when the first transaction request reaches the front of the selected transaction request queue, process the first transaction request and send a second transaction request to the second network entity; 
 receive a first transaction response from the second network entity, in response to the second transaction request; 
 select a transaction response queue from a plurality of configured transaction response queues; 
 add the first transaction response to the back of the selected transaction response queue; and 
 when the first transaction response reaches the front of the selected transaction response queue, process the first transaction response and send a second transaction response to the first network entity. 
   
     
     
         15 . A system comprising:
 the plurality of network entities; and   the transaction manager apparatus according to claim  14 .